Electronic Surge Protection vs. Common Surge Protector

If you’re in the habit of using common surge protectors, you probably understand that power surges create a danger to expensive, sensitive electronics that your family relies on each day. Take computers, for instance. Even though they’re less cost-prohibitive than they once were, the average selling price falls around $632,¹ and most households have more than one laptop or desktop. A power surge can render them powerless in a brief flash of lightning and repairing multiple computers and other devices at one time is pricey. Still, you’re already aware of this, which is why you’ve gone to the trouble and expense of purchasing and using standard, ordinary, plug-in power surge protectors, a precautionary measure to prevent loss and protect your investment.

Plug-in power surge protectors are a good but small first step for protecting sensitive electronics. Plug-in power surge protectors are paper tigers. Unable to provide whole-home protection, they can only handle a certain amount of extra power before failing to protect the device plugged into them.

The amount of energy a plugged-in power surge protector can withstand is measured in joules-the measure of the energy released over time. A high joule rating indicates the plug-in power surge protector can provide more protection. The amount of energy it can withstand varies by type, but it is powerless to protect once that amount is exceeded.

How can you know when the power surge protector no longer provides protection? You can’t. The best you can do is follow the manufacturer’s recommendations to replace the plug-in protector regularly. Even then, there’s no guarantee that it will protect devices from a lightning-induced power surge—the energy released from an average lightning strike is more than one billion joules.² A single lightning strike can destroy an electronic device in a millisecond. 

Plug-in protectors are tasked with the job of protecting a device once the power has already surged through electrical wiring. Unfortunately, there’s still a potential for damage. Homeowners and renters need added protection, something more than ordinary plug-in power surge protectors can provide, especially against lightning-induced surges.

The Electronics Surge Protection^SM program offered by FPL Home provides coverage to homeowners and renters  in order to help protect against the cost to repair or replace sensitive electronics. The Electronics Surge Protection program provides up to $5,000 per year to help cover the cost of repairing or replacing covered electronics when they are damaged by a power surge. Covered electronics include televisions, computers, tablets, home-theater’s game consoles, digital cameras, surveillance/alarm monitoring systems, and more. The Electronics Surge Protection program could pay for itself if multiple electronics are damaged or destroyed at one time. The Electronics Surge Protection program is also convenient. The cost, including tax, to enroll is added each month to your Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) bill. You can register as early as today. Call 833-437-5466 to learn more.

FPL Home, is an unregulated subsidiary of Florida Power & Light Company (FPL). The Electronics Surge Protection program is offered and administered by FPL Home, and not FPL, and is provided by United Service Protection, Inc.

¹ https://www.statista.com/statistics/756054/united-states-adults-desktop-laptop-ownership/

² https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2012/05/could-we-harness-lightning-as-an-energy-source.html